Watson, who was 43 at the time, adopted the then-44-year-old Spado to protect her financially. But then, a year later, the two split and Watson paid Spado a $500,000 settlement, the New York Times reported in 2007.

Watson's father died in 1993, unaware of the adoption. Things became complicated in 2004, when his wife died, making Watson grandchildren 35 and older eligible for cash payouts from accounts worth millions, according to Reuters and Associated Press reports.

Technically, Spado was her ex-lover’s daughter and therefore a Watson grandchild. That’s when her lawyer notified the trust that she was entitled to a share of the fortune, dropping a bomb on the unsuspecting Watson family.

Watson’s other heirs did not open their arms to their new-found family member. Instead, they went to court to determine if the adoption was actually legal and to try and annul it. In Maine, law allows one adult to adopt another, the Times reported.

After a long journey through court, the probate judge who granted the adoption in 1991 annulled it in April 2008 over a residency issue. Spado and Watson were New York residents so, the court decided, they had not fulfilled the statutory requirements of living in Maine at the time of the adoption.